The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of apple tree, botanically known as Malus domestica ‘SPA493’, referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘SPA493’.
The new cultivar arose from a cross made by the Inventor in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada 1981 between ‘Splendour’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,460) as the female parent and ‘Gala’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,637) as the male parent. The Inventor selected ‘SPA493’ as a single unique plant amongst the seedlings that resulted from the above cross in 1997.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by vegetative budding onto ‘M26’ apple tree rootstock in 1997 under the direction of the Inventor in Summerland, BC, Canada. Asexual propagation by vegetative budding and grafting has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.